You have FEWER employee rights today (March 20, 2012) — Your US Supreme Court (Republican Division) says that parts of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) do not, in effect, apply to Government employees, even though FMLA says it does. The US Supreme Court used the archaic “Sovereign Immunity” doctrine from England. This decision will likely lead to ALL parts of FMLA eventually being held to be unenforceable, for Government employees.

“Sovereign Immunity” is an archaic English legal doctrine from the Middle-Ages that basically means “You can’t sue the King” — That ancient English doctrine is fully alive and well today, and was used to kill an employee’s case, by the Republican-appointed Supreme Court members, who were supposed to be anti-foreign legal doctrine.

The US Supreme Court, Republican wing, used this awful Foreign doctrine to invalidate part of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) for Government workers – They invalidated any damage remedy for Government employees who need FMLA for their own illnesses. Congratulations on getting one of the natural court decisions that many of you hoped for in voting for W – He delivered for you, through his Court appointments.

The case is fresh and we do not yet know exactly how lower courts will view it — But I think it likely that it marks the end of FMLA-remedies for Government employees.

The end of FMLA remedies, for some types of cases, for Government employees, means you cannot really have a worthwhile FMLA claim in court, if you are a Government employee. — Your potential case, as a Governmental FMLA plaintiff, probably isn’t worth anything anymore. The US Supreme Court case is linked below.

You may still have plenty of rights, under many legal doctrines, but FMLA is evaporating for Government employees. Thank you W. for working so hard to kill Employee Rights — Your voters are getting what they apparently wanted — FEWER employee rights.

Despite my rant about the “Republican wing”, Judges DO NOT decide cases based on politics — They decide cases based on the FACTS and the LAW — (And I have never seen any indication otherwise). But judges are human beings, and they “filter” the cases through such things as their politics, when a legitimate question arises about what the law might mean — It is their job to give meaning to the law — Judges at the level of the US Supreme Court are political persons with definite attitudes — That’s how they got to be Supreme Court Justices — So their viewpoint, when the law is in doubt, can often be anticipated. But they really believe they are doing the right thing.

A Republican President, such as W was, will appoint Justices who have a “bent” toward his way of thinking — And W did that, and we are seeing the results.

Timslaw.com Missouri Employment Law

Phil is a Missouri employment lawyer who is licensed to practice in Kansas and Missouri, and primarily takes cases in Saint Louis and Kansas City.
He is a member of the Missouri Bar Association and Kansas Bar Association.
Additionally, he has practiced in the United States Federal Courts of Missouri in St. Louis and Kansas City.
He has also practiced in the Kansas Federal District Court in Kansas City, Kansas.